


Consequences

by Lady_Blade_WarAngel



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Flashbacks, Lawyers, Rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-12
Updated: 2014-06-12
Packaged: 2018-02-04 10:46:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1776301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Blade_WarAngel/pseuds/Lady_Blade_WarAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaime is shocked to see his ex colleague and girlfriend, Brienne Tarth having lunch in the same restaurant as him. When he sees she is pregnant, he is even more shocked. So as he goes to speak to her, Jaime thinks about all the times he spent with Brienne, and how his actions have consequences in the long run.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Consequences

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, another little one shot that I thought I'd throw out here. There are flashbacks in italics, so hopefully no one gets confused by them. They're not in a specific order at all. But hopefully it won't be too difficult to work out. If it is, just let me know. (nods) Apart from that, I hope you all enjoy, and such.

Consequences

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Jaime was with Tyrion, having lunch, when he found himself in complete shock. They were in the VIP area that overlooked the rest of the restaurant when Jaime saw her.

“Isn’t that Brienne Tarth?” Tyrion asked, pointing her out. Jaime’s mouth fell open in shock, for it wasn’t the skinny, athletic and unfeminine woman that he knew so well, that he saw. It was Brienne, there was no doubt, but her huge stomach gave away the fact that she was obviously a woman. A pregnant woman at that. She sat at a table with three other woman, that both Tyrion and Jaime knew well. Margaery Tyrell, Sansa Stark and Daenerys Targaryen, who all looked completely at ease with the fact that Brienne was quite clearly, heavily pregnant. Jaime wasn’t sure what to think.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

_“Miss Tarth, this is my son, and a senior partner at this firm, Jaime Lannister. Jaime, this is Brienne Tarth, our new junior attorney.” Jaime had looked up at his father, and then at the tall woman, who dwarfed even his father. She had astonishing blue eyes. Something about her drew him like a magnet. She wasn’t pretty, at least, she was not conventionally pretty, but Jaime was still drawn to her. He stood up from his desk and walked over. He held out his hand._

_“Nice to meet you Miss Tarth.” Jaime said. Brienne extended her own hand and took hold of his. Her hand was cool, but not clammy. She wasn’t even slightly nervous._

_“Nice to meet you too Mr Lannister.” Brienne replied._

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Jaime watched as Brienne sat down with her friends and found himself mesmerised.

“Jaime? Are you alright? You’ve gone so pale anyone would think you’d seen a ghost rather than our pregnant ex colleague. I didn’t even know she had a boyfriend.” Tyrion stated.

“Why didn’t she tell me?” Jaime uttered. That was when Tyrion understood.

“It’s yours? You and Brienne Tarth? That explains a lot. Well I never thought I’d see the day that you knocked up a work colleague before I did.” Tyrion said.

“Don’t Tyrion. Just don’t.” Jaime stated coldly. Tyrion frowned.

“You’ve got it bad, big brother.” Tyrion stated, almost fondly. Jaime took a deep breath, as he saw Brienne smile at something Margaery had said to her. He couldn’t hear the conversation going on, but he could see everything.

“You have no idea Tyrion.” Jaime said softly as he thought about how he had earned Brienne’s friendship in the first place.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Jaime was frustrated as he looked over a new case file for the Mockingbird Foundation. He hated Petyr Baelish. He hated a lot of the people they had for clientèle, but Jaime knew it didn’t matter if he hated them. His job wasn’t to like them, but to represent them in court. That was it. There was a knock at his office door._

_“Come in!” Jaime called as he looked over the contract again. He knew there was something deeply wrong with the contract, but somehow he couldn’t figure out what, and he wouldn’t allow his father and the company to sign it if there was some sort of dodgy stipulation in it that would be legally binding._

_“I’m sorry to bother you Mr Lannister, but I was told you’re the one to come to with contractual misdemeanours.” Jaime looked up at Brienne._

_“One, my name is Jaime. You can stop calling me Mr Lannister. Mr Lannister is my father. If we’re going to work together Miss Tarth, we should at least be on a first name basis.” Jaime said._

_“Then you should be calling me Brienne instead of Miss Tarth, Jaime.” Brienne shot back. Jaime grinned._

_“Fair enough, Brienne. Secondly, this stupid contract from the Mockingbird Foundation is already taking way too much of my attention. How about we swap? Maybe a fresh pair of eyes will be able to spot what I’m missing.” Jaime said. Brienne nodded._

_“I can look, but I’m hardly an expert.” Brienne said softly. Jaime handed her the contract, taking the one she was holding in her hand. He hoped that if he looked at something different for a few minutes he’d be able to go back to the Mockingbird Foundation contract without any trouble. He was horrified by the contract that appeared in front of him._

_“Brienne, you do realise that anyone who signed this would be legally bound to it?” Jaime asked her._

_“I haven’t signed it Jaime. A client has asked if I can help her to get out of it. She’s very young, just a kid really. She’s only just turned eighteen. But there doesn’t appear to be much I can do with it.” Brienne said. She frowned as she looked over the contract. “You do realise this contract is legally binding your father to forgo any fees for the company unless he is the lawyer attending the case in question, and also there’s an underlying clause stating that should your father die that half the fees paid by the Mockingbird Foundation will immediately be returned to Petyr Baelish.” Brienne said. Jaime’s eyes went wide._

_“I didn’t see that.” Jaime replied in shock._

_“It’s all hidden in the pretexts of other clauses. When I was a kid myself, I saw a whole family almost ruined by a clause like this. My father is a lawyer and he looked over the contract and showed me how to look for underlying clauses like this. He helped the family to get out of the contract.” Brienne said._

_“So why aren’t you working with your father instead of here? Did you want a change of scenery?” Jaime asked. Brienne went pale._

_“My father was murdered shortly after foiling that contract. The people who made the contract were obviously unhappy about it.” Brienne said softly._

_“I’m sorry.” Jaime said._

_“You weren’t the one who shot him outside my school. You don’t have to be sorry. But that’s why I became a lawyer, so I could help people like my father did.” Brienne said. Jaime could see Brienne was a little shaken up by her memories. She seemed to shake herself out of it and showed Jaime exactly what he had been missing. He was shocked that he hadn’t spotted it himself, and much sooner. Jaime relooked over the contract Brienne had brought to him, and then pointed a few things out that Brienne might be able to use to get the girl out of the contract. It basically made the girl an unpaid prostitute and Brienne was obviously a woman on a mission. Brienne grinned and Jaime thought her smile, even with her crooked teeth, was sweet. She seemed like such an innocent kid herself when she smiled like that._

_“Thank you for pointing that out. I knew there was something wrong with this damn contract and I was right.” Jaime stated. Brienne smiled again._

_“Not a problem. Thank you for the help with_ this _contract.” Brienne said. “The girl who wants out of it will surely be grateful too.” Brienne added. Jaime nodded and watched as Brienne left his office. He couldn’t help smiling to himself as he considered the new junior attorney with a fondness he rarely felt for anyone._

_xXxXxXxXxXxXx_

_“Mr Lannister!” Jaime looked up to see Pia standing in the doorway. Jaime smiled at the girl. Pia had been the client that poor Brienne had helped out of her horrible work contract. Jaime was glad he’d been a part of that. The barely eighteen year old girl was a good secretary and she was a good kid. Jaime had needed a new secretary and after meeting Pia and Brienne after a good hundred interviews, outside Brienne’s office, he’d heard Pia was looking for a job. Jaime had never been the most compassionate man in the world, but he could see the kid needed a break, and she proved herself a good decision to hire every day. She’d been working for him for six months and Brienne had been working at the company for a year. Jaime had often found himself speaking to Brienne, about contracts that he wasn’t sure about. Brienne, in turn, came to him when she needed his expertise. He respected her a great deal, which was more then he could say for a lot of the lawyers who worked for Casterly Rock Law Firm. That included his cousin Cersei, who he’d been having an affair with for years. He’d ended it over a year ago, because he knew she was using him. It wasn’t the kind of relationship he wanted. So he chose not to have it. Pia looked at Jaime, a troubled expression on her face._

_“What’s wrong Pia?” Jaime asked her. Pia looked anxious._

_“There is someone here to see you. Your father booked him in last minute. I didn’t know.” Pia looked positively panicked._

_“It’s alright Pia. Who is it?” Jaime asked._

_“His name is Ronnet Connington.” Pia said. Jaime sighed. He hated doing business with Ronnet Connington. He’d met him a few times before._

_“Alright Pia. Send him in.” Jaime said. Pia looked like she wanted to say something else. “What’s wrong Pia?” Jaime asked._

_“He... Mr Connington... he was very rude to Miss Tarth. I...” Pia didn’t seem to want to go on. She looked angry then._

“He must have said something pretty damning for Pia to be angry about it.” _Jaime thought to himself. “What did he say Pia?” Jaime asked her. That was when they heard the voice._

_“Well if it isn’t Brienne the Beauty. I heard you’d become a lawyer. Must be good to have a use for that ugly face of yours. Intimidating people on the witness stand must be a gift for an ugly creature like you.” Jaime found himself furious. He walked over to the door and went out, Pia following behind him. Brienne was pale, her lips pressed together as though she were trying not to respond._

_“What’s going on here?” Jaime asked._

_“I didn’t know your father hired beasts to work for him. I’d have brought my Rottweiler to apply for a job. He’s better looking.” Ronnet stated, laughing. Brienne screwed her eyes closed, took a deep breath and made to walk away. “Awe, where are you running away to?” Ronnet asked. Jaime glared._

_“That is quite enough Mr Connington. You are a client of this firm, but that can easily change. We don’t tolerate anyone throwing verbal abuse at our employees. Miss Tarth is an exceptional lawyer, and you should be grateful that her expertise is at this firm rather than at the firm of our competitors who would see you out of business.” Jaime stated coldly. Ronnet glared and Brienne stared at Jaime with wide eyes. “If you would like to wait in my office for a moment, I’ll be with you shortly.” Jaime said. Ronnet stood up and walked into Jaime’s office and Pia closed the door behind him. Jaime walked over to stand beside Brienne. “Are you alright Brienne?” Jaime asked her gently. Brienne nodded._

_“I’m fine. I... knew him from back home. I know what he’s like.” Brienne said. “He’s always been a vile little worm.” Brienne whispered. Jaime grinned._

_“Well you don’t have to deal with him Brienne. If anyone harasses you, come to me. I’ll deal with it, I promise.” Jaime said. He realised it was true. He wouldn’t let people abuse Brienne. He’d grown rather fond of her. Brienne smiled widely at him._

_“You might get rather sick of me if I came to you every time someone was rude to me.” Brienne replied. A half laugh escaping her. Jaime smiled at her._

_“I doubt I could get sick of you.” Jaime said honestly. Brienne did laugh then._

_“I’d better let you get back to your client. I have a whole stack of extra paperwork to do before I can go home today.” Brienne said. Jaime nodded and Brienne was gone down the corridor. Jaime couldn’t help noticing the slight sway of her hips as she walked._

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

“Jaime, if you’re so in love with her, and she’s carrying your baby, I wouldn’t have thought you’d have let her go so easily.” Tyrion said. Jaime could tell Tyrion wasn’t trying to mock him in any way. He seemed genuinely concerned and Jaime wasn’t sure how to answer.

“It wasn’t _my_ decision Tyrion. I haven’t seen her in six months! She left the company to go work for Catelyn bloody Stark and she didn’t even have the guts to tell me she was pregnant.” Jaime said. He was angry and Tyrion could see it.

“Jaime, do you know any reason why she might _not_ have told you? Do you know why she left the Casterly Rock Firm?” Tyrion asked him, trying to make his older brother think about it. Jaime took a deep breath.

“She... she saw Cersei coming on to me.” Jaime said. Tyrion gave Jaime a frown. “ _She_ came on to _me_. I didn’t respond I pushed her away. But Brienne... Brienne saw me with her, and instead of sticking around to see what happened, she just... she left. She wouldn’t even talk to me.” Jaime said softly, as he thought about the blazing row they’d had that night when he’d gone to see her at her apartment.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Jaime knocked on the door. He’d been knocking for nearly thirty minutes now and he wasn’t about to leave._

_“Brienne! Open up!” Jaime called out angrily. The door was yanked open and Jaime could see that Brienne was clearly upset. Her eyes were red rimmed. She was still dressed in the blue business suit she had worn to work that day. “Brienne let me explain.” Jaime pleaded. Brienne shook her head._

_“What is there to explain? You want your cousin, ex lover, whatever the fuck she is?_ Go! _Have her! I’m not going to stop you!” Brienne exclaimed, her chest heaving with suppressed rage. Jaime pushed past her into her apartment. “Did I_ ask _you in?” Brienne hissed. Jaime turned to face her._

 _“I_ don’t want _Cersei. If I wanted her, why would I even be here speaking to you? If I didn’t give a damn about you then why would I come here to explain anything? I’d just have fucked_ her _in my office like she would have wanted me to. Instead I’m here. What does that say to you?” Jaime questioned angrily._

 _“It tells me that I’m a great cover for you when it’s convenient. I may be ugly Jaime Lannister but I am_ not _anyone’s cover. Even an ugly woman deserves better than to be in second place to a woman that is so easily accessible it’s ridiculous. You don’t get to use me Jaime! So get out!” Brienne yelled._

_“You want me to leave? She came on to me Brienne! I didn’t invite her to my office and I didn’t kiss her! She kissed me! I don’t fucking want her!” Jaime yelled back. Brienne shook her head, he could see tears gathering in her eyes, and he knew she wouldn’t allow him to see them._

_“Don’t. Don’t tell me that when I saw you together.” Brienne uttered. The broken sound of her voice made Jaime’s heart ache._

_“Brienne... I know it must’ve looked bad, but...” Jaime tried but Brienne shook her head._

_“I want you to leave.” Brienne said._

_“We are going to have to talk about this Brienne. I’m not just going to let you go.” Jaime said. He went to the door, but he didn’t want to leave, he wanted Brienne to understand. He wanted her to know the truth. Brienne wouldn’t even look at him now. He hoped that once she had calmed down she would speak to him. So he left._

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Jaime had gone into work the next day and found that Brienne had left the firm. He’d been horrified and had made an excuse to leave the office and went to her apartment, only to find that Gendry, Renly and Loras were there, packing boxes onto a truck. They had insisted they had no idea where the truck was going and When Jaime asked the driver, the driver refused to tell him. Of course he had, he couldn’t give out Brienne’s personal information. That would have been a breach of privacy that he could lose his job over. Since then, Jaime had heard that Brienne had gone to work for the Starks at Winterfell Law. He’d tried a couple of times to get into the building, but without an appointment he wasn’t permitted entry. So Jaime had lost Brienne over some sick game Cersei was playing. For six months he had not seen her, had not heard from her, and now... Jaime was furious that she hadn’t told him.

 _“How could she not tell me she’s carrying my child?”_ Jaime thought to himself angrily. At the same time, as he kept looking over to see her, he couldn’t help thinking how she positively _glowed_ as she spoke to her three friends. When she got up from her seat, a hand resting on her large stomach, Jaime was about to get up and follow her. He felt a hand on his wrist.

“Jaime, if you go and speak to her, you need to try and stay calm. She’s pregnant and it won’t do any good to get angry with her.” Tyrion said wisely. Jaime knew his little brother was right. He knew that being angry with Brienne was pointless. He remembered the first time they slept together clearly. She’d been furious with him that night too and it was the first time he had realised that he was in love with her.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Jaime was at Brienne’s apartment. They were looking over files on the Mountain’s Men case. Jaime and Brienne had become good friends in the last year. The fact that Brienne had worked for the company for two years was something Jaime often joked about, claiming that Brienne was obviously strong enough to have lasted this long, putting up with his father as a boss._

_Brienne was trembling as she looked through the evidence files and angrily dumped the box on the floor. She glared at Jaime as though this case was his personal way of offending her._

_“They’re murderers, paedophiles and rapists! All the evidence proves they murdered that little girl, not before raping her half a dozen times! How can your father agree to represent them? Why are we doing the grunt work to help these bastards get off?” Brienne yelled angrily._

_“Because my father took on the case and delegated the research to us. That’s what happens when you become a lawyer Brienne. Not everyone you represent is innocent and you know it.” Jaime replied. Brienne stood up from where she’d been sitting and stared down at Jaime. Her blue eyes sparkled with her anger._

_“That doesn’t mean we should purposely be helping these bastards to get off! Your father surely knew they were guilty! Why did he take the case?” Brienne demanded. Jaime stood up._

_“He probably took it because Gregor Clegane is filthy stinking rich and his money is as good as anyone else’s!” Jaime exclaimed._

_“That isn’t the kind of person I want to be!” Brienne shot back._

_“You could never be that way Brienne!” Jaime shot back. Brienne blinked in confusion. “You’re too good Brienne. You’re too honest. You’d never be a lawyer like that. This... this case is sick. It’s horrible. I hate the fact that we’re using our time and resources to look into how we can get Gregor Clegane off of the rape and murder of a little girl. I hate it. But working as a lawyer at a firm, means you don’t get a choice in the cases, the senior partners pick the ones we take on. As lawyers we can’t refuse, and according to the law everyone has a right to adequate legal counsel. Even scum like Gregor Clegane, have a right to a good attorney.” Jaime said sadly. Brienne shook her head._

_“Why not start your own firm Jaime if you feel that strongly? Why not just... work for another firm?” Brienne asked._

_“You think I’d survive without my father?” Jaime asked angrily. He’d heard enough of the rumours. Most lawyers at the firm believed Jaime, Tyrion and Cersei were all incapable. Cersei was incapable. She had no real skills as a lawyer, but her uncle, Jaime’s father, was quite willing to take Cersei on at the firm. Nepotism at it’s best was a huge part of Casterly Rock Law Firm. Tyrion was the best damn lawyer that Jaime knew. Tyrion knew everything. Yet people judged him for being Tywin Lannister’s son. People had seen what Tyrion was capable of, but still chose to be ignorant towards him._

_“I think you are a brilliant lawyer Jaime. No one can figure out contracts like you. Even Tyrion has said it more than once, and everyone knows he’s the best fucking lawyer in the firm, even though your father refuses to make him a named partner. You rarely lose a case, which is more than I can say for a few of the idiots your father has hired. You’re not stupid or incapable Jaime. You could start over elsewhere. You can do anything you put your mind to, so long as you want it badly enough.” Brienne said firmly. Jaime could see Brienne was serious, that she actually believed in him, her eyes were honest and open and Jaime couldn’t help himself. He grabbed hold of her shoulders and pulled Brienne to him, pressing his lips to hers and was surprised when she responded to him instead of smacking him in the face. When they parted for air, Jaime could see Brienne breathing deeply, her lips parted slightly, kiss swollen and her eyes bright, her hair and clothes mussed from Jaime’s overeager hands._

_“Why did you...?” Brienne seemed confused._

_“Because I wanted to.” Jaime replied. Brienne blinked._

_“And if I wanted to?” Brienne asked. Jaime wanted to laugh at the idea that neither of them had used any words. Kiss, kissing, making out, one of the three would have been useful. Jaime just grinned and pulled her back towards him, every inch of him pressed against every inch of her, and he carried on kissing her. Soon kissing led to much more, and before either of them knew it, they were lying in Brienne’s bed, naked and sated and spent and Jaime wanted only one thing. All he wanted was to be with her._

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Jaime remembered that night, and all the nights and days that followed as he walked down the stairs and went to stand outside the door to the ladies room. He’d seen Brienne go in, but she had not come out. He wasn’t going to let her go this time. He couldn’t just let her go. He loved her too much for that. That was when he saw her, stomach and all, coming out of the ladies bathroom. Her eyes widened as she saw him straight away. Where he’d stood, he knew she would anyway.

“Brienne?” Jaime questioned. Brienne looked anxious, a hand rubbing unconsciously on her stomach.

“What are you doing here?” Brienne asked.

“Having lunch with my brother, like I do every Friday.” Jaime replied. “Do you not think you could have told me?” Jaime asked, gesturing to Brienne’s very pregnant stomach.

“I don’t want to talk to you Lannister.” Brienne hissed. She went to move past him, but Jaime wasn’t going to let her run. He moved himself in her path.

“My _name_ is _Jaime_.” Jaime hissed back.

“I can think of a few names I’d like to give you.” Brienne shot back angrily.

“Father being one? I had a right to know Brienne.” Jaime stated angrily, because he was angry. _“If I hadn’t seen her today how long would she have kept this from me?”_ He thought to himself.

“You’re so fucking arrogant Jaime. What makes you assume it’s your baby?” Brienne retorted, Jaime allowed his left hand to cup Brienne’s cheek. His thumb grazed the top of Brienne’s cheekbone in a gesture that was far too gentle for Jaime Lannister. He was only like that with her and no one else, but he didn’t know how to let Brienne know that.

“I know you Brienne. I know that while we were together you would never have fucked anyone else, because you’re too loyal and too good for that.” Jaime said. Brienne moved away from him, obviously annoyed by the crude language he was using to describe their relationship. “Once you left you would have taken time before you even considered another man in your life. Certainly too much time to leave you so considerably pregnant.” Jaime added softly. His hand had been hovering in the air where he’d touched Brienne’s cheek, and it went back to his side as Brienne shook her head at him.

“Why do you care? Why are you even here talking to me? You have Cersei. She’s far more beautiful than I am.” Brienne said.

“Brienne!” Jaime wanted to yell at her, to tell her not to think that way about herself but Brienne continued.

“If this is about the baby, you don’t need to worry about it. I’ll take care of my child. I don’t need anyone to help me, least of all you.” Brienne shot out. Jaime could see she was angry. “I don’t want you and I don’t need you Jaime Lannister. I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself and my baby.” Brienne stated. She made to barge past him, and Jaime grabbed hold of her wrist.

“I’ve let you walk away too many times Brienne. I’m not letting you walk away this time.” Jaime stated angrily. Brienne looked at him angrily.

“Let. Me. Go. Jaime.” Brienne said. Jaime noted the slight flare of her nostrils, knowing it meant that she was getting furious, but Jaime was angry too.

“I did not cheat on you with Cersei! I never cheated on you period! Cersei came on to me and I told her to fuck off! Because I want you! I only wanted you! If you don’t believe me there is security footage from the camera in my office! It all gets loaded onto files on a computer! I’ll get Tyrion to fucking bring you the discs so you can see it for yourself! You trust Tyrion to be honest? I’ll get him to bring you every fucking disc from my office from the moment I met you until now so you can watch every single file and see I never betrayed you Brienne! I would never fucking betray you! I couldn’t hurt you like that!” Jaime exclaimed. Brienne looked at Jaime, her eyes glittered with unshed tears.

“I can’t do this Jaime! I can’t do this now! I can’t!” Brienne almost sobbed. She wrenched her wrist from Jaime’s grip and before he could get hold of her again, she was practically running from him. Jaime followed and saw Brienne grab her shoulder bag and keep going. Margaery, Daenerys and Sansa were all calling after her, but she didn’t answer, just kept going, faster than Jaime thought a pregnant woman could go. Then the three women noticed him. Before they could question him, Jaime ran out of the restaurant after Brienne. He saw her walking hurriedly along the riverside, heading towards the car park and Jaime ran after her.

“Brienne!” He called her. She wouldn’t stop or slow down. He was speeding after her, trying to get her to stop and talk to him. He figured that the pace she was going at wasn’t good for her at the moment. “Brienne stop!” Jaime yelled after her. They reached her car and Brienne spun to face him.

“God damn you Jaime Lannister! Why do you have to chase me? Why are you fucking doing this?” Brienne yelled.

“Because I love you? Did you consider that? Because I want to be with you and our baby? The one you didn’t even have the nerve to talk to me about?” Jaime shot back.

“I was going to tell you!” Brienne yelled. “I was going to tell you that night! But you were with her! That fucking bitch, Cersei! Of all the fucking bitches you could have picked to...” Brienne trailed off, sobs escaping her, even if she wouldn’t allow tears the same luxury.

“I was _not_ with Cersei! I told you!” Jaime exclaimed, pounding his fist on the roof of Brienne’s car in anger.

“You say that now Jaime! You say that now because you can see I’m pregnant! I’m no one’s second prize. I won’t be the one everyone laughs at, the one who will always come in second place to Cersei. I won’t be anyone’s obligation! You don’t need to feel obligated to me Jaime! I’m not asking you for anything, you can walk away and pretend you never saw me and I release you from any obligations.” Brienne stated tearfully.

“Don’t you _fucking dare_ Brienne Tarth! Don’t you dare! I’m not fucking obligated! I want to be with you! I always wanted to be with you! I told you I wanted to be with you! That I wasn’t going to let you go! That was before I even _knew_ there was going to be a baby!” Jaime yelled. “Is it so hard for you to believe that you’re the one I want? That I want to spend my life with you and our child? Is that too much to believe, really?” Jaime asked. Brienne shook her head. She looked angry, but he could see that she knew he was being honest. Brienne revealed everything with her eyes. Her eyes told him that she knew he wasn’t lying but that she wanted to protect her heart from being broken. All of a sudden, thunder crashed around them and it started to rain.

“I can’t let you break my heart again Jaime. I can’t. I can’t take it.” Brienne sobbed. Jaime could see her tears, mingling with the rain which was soaking them both. The blue tunic shirt that Brienne was wearing was clinging to her, straining against her large stomach, and he could see Brienne was practically choking on her tears. She made to walk away again, to open her car, and Jaime put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around gently, so he was looking into her blue eyes.

 _“God I hope this kid has her eyes.”_ Jaime thought to himself.

“Jaime, just let me go.” Brienne sobbed out.

“I can’t. I can’t let you run away from me Brienne, from _us_. I’ve let you run before and I shouldn’t have. I should have stayed and argued it out with you. I should have but I didn’t. I thought I was doing the right thing giving you space and you ran so far that I couldn’t even speak to you. I’m not going to break your heart Brienne. I will do whatever the fuck it takes to prove that to you. Anything. Whatever the hell it takes, whatever you want I’ll do it if it will prove to you that I’m in this for keeps.” Jaime told her firmly. Brienne’s eyes went wide then, one hand pressed against the car door, the other pressed against her stomach. Jaime was horrified when Brienne cried out, nearly collapsing to the ground. If Jaime hadn’t been there, she would’ve pitched forward into the gravel. Her head leaned on Jaime’s right shoulder and she gasped in pain. “Brienne! Brienne what’s wrong?” Jaime pleaded with her. Brienne was trembling and Jaime wanted to know what was happening. “Please Brienne. Please talk to me. What’s going on?” Jaime begged. Brienne was taking deep gasping breaths.

“Oh God.” Brienne whispered. “Please God.” She uttered again, one arm around Jaime’s neck, the other hugging her stomach. Jaime was terrified. He could see Brienne was in pain.

“Brienne? Is it the baby?” Jaime asked her gently. Brienne nodded and Jaime pulled his mobile phone from his pocket and called for an ambulance. He begged them to hurry, told them Brienne was heavily pregnant, told them where they were and then waited. He got Brienne into a more comfortable position. It was still raining, and Jaime didn’t know what to do. He looked at the pained look on Brienne’s face. “Brienne it’s going to be alright. There’s an ambulance on it’s way. It’ll be here soon. It’s going to be fine.” Jaime tried to reassure Brienne, even though he wasn’t sure himself if it was going to be alright. He was so terrified that it wouldn’t be.

“I can’t... I can’t lose my baby.” Brienne sobbed.

“You’re not going to lose the baby Brienne.” Jaime said.

“The... the scans said she’s going to be a girl.” Brienne whispered. Jaime barely heard her over the pouring rain falling all around them. “I can’t lose my daughter. I can’t lose her.” Brienne almost pleaded. She looked white as a sheet and Jaime was scared. His own mother had died after giving birth to Tyrion. People did die in childbirth, even now, when there was so much technology and so many treatments for everything. People still died sometimes. It still happened. But then Brienne’s words registered to him.

 _“A daughter. I’m going to have a daughter.”_ Jaime thought to himself. He looked Brienne dead in the eyes. “Look at me Brienne.” He said gently. She did, her eyes locked on his. “Nothing is going to happen to _our_ daughter. I won’t fucking _allow_ anything to happen to her. You _and_ our daughter are going to be fine.” Jaime said firmly. Brienne was taking deep, gasping breaths. She was frightened and Jaime could see she was terrified. He had to be strong for her for once. She was always strong for him, always there for him, he needed to be there for her, just this once, he had to be there for her. “Tell me what I’ve missed.” Jaime said gently. Brienne told him all about her scans, how Renly and Loras had helped to paint the baby’s room and how she’d picked a soft lilac for the room because she wasn’t going to lumber her baby with pink just because she was a girl.

“I can’t even decide on a name for her.” Brienne sobbed as Jaime could see she was in pain. She grasped hold of his hand and squeezed tightly, gritting her teeth.

“How about we both decide when she’s here? You get first choice though. You’ve done all the hard work.” Jaime said. Brienne allowed a little laugh to escape her, but then cried out in pain. Jaime was horrified. “Where is that fucking ambulance?” Jaime cursed. Brienne took deep breaths and that was when Jaime heard the sirens. “Thank God.” Jaime uttered as the ambulance pulled into the car park.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

It felt like days had passed. It had been three hours since they had arrived at the hospital. Brienne had pleaded with Jaime to call Renly and Loras, telling him to tell them to inform everyone else. After that, he refused to leave her side. When the doctors scanned Brienne, they said the baby was in the wrong position. It was stuck breech and they would need to turn it if the baby didn’t move in an hour. Jaime waited through that hour as Brienne struggled and cried out in pain. He used a damp flannel to bathe her forehead with cool water and tried to keep Brienne calm. But an hour came and went and still the baby hadn’t moved.

“We’ll have to turn her.” The doctor said.

“What do you mean?” Jaime asked.

“We have to turn the baby or she’ll get stuck in the birth canal.” The female doctor said. When the doctor explained what that would involve, Jaime felt sick, but he stayed by Brienne’s side. Brienne screamed in agony as the doctor attempted to turn the baby, but the doctor stopped and shook her head in disbelief.

“Miss Tarth, we’re going to have to perform a caesarean section on you.” The doctor said.

“What? Why? What’s wrong with my baby?” Brienne asked.

“There are two babies Miss Tarth. It’s why we can’t turn the baby. There are two and there isn’t enough room to turn either of them.” The doctor said. Brienne gasped in shock. She looked at Jaime.

“I’m not going anywhere Brienne.” Jaime said gently.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

A little while later, as soon as a delivery theatre was free Brienne was wheeled down, Jaime at her side. He refused to leave her. He was the one to take a deep breath when he doctor made the first incision to cut open Brienne’s stomach. He watched as a bloody, squalling baby was lifted from out of Brienne’s stomach and the doctor handed the baby over to a nurse, to clean and wrap in a blanket.

“It’s a girl.” The doctor told them as she went to remove the next baby. Jaime was in awe as he heard his daughter screaming at the top of her tiny lungs. “And another girl.” The doctor said. Brienne started to cry when the second girl cried loudly.

“I want to see them.” Brienne said. The doctor nodded and the nurse brought the first baby over and handed her to Brienne, and then handed the second baby to Jaime. Brienne stayed still as the doctor closed Brienne up, and just looked into her baby’s face. They both had Jaime’s golden hair. Their eye colour would most likely be blue for now, but that could change. But the first baby had freckles everywhere. Brienne thought her daughter’s freckles were beautiful, as she had never thought about her own freckles. When Jaime finally managed to get her to swap babies, she stared at her second daughter, who had smooth, creamy skin, without a single blotch. No freckles, just clear, perfect skin. But that didn’t seem to matter to Brienne, and Jaime thought both their daughters were perfect.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

When the doctors were done and Brienne and Jaime were finally alone in a hospital room, and Renly, Loras, Margaery, Daenerys and Sansa had all seen the babies, Jaime looked at Brienne as she cradled both of them in her arms.

“Jaime...” Brienne trailed off. Jaime looked at her. “I should have told you. I wanted to tell you. I just... I thought you’d only end up hating me for it. I just... I didn’t want you to hate me. I think it hurt less to think you’d cheated then it would have for you to hate me.” Brienne said softly.

“I never cheated on you Brienne.” Jaime pleaded.

“I know. Now I know. I just...” Brienne trailed off.

“I will do anything Brienne, anything to prove to you how much I love you. And don’t mistake me, I do love you. It’s not just about the girls. Although I love them too. I love you Brienne.” Jaime said.

“Well if you want to prove it.” Brienne said, a smile on her face. “You could strip off and run three laps around the hospital.” Brienne finished. Jaime blinked. Then he pulled off the t-shirt he was wearing. He’d been made to change into scrubs earlier, his soaked clothing was a hazard. Then Tyrion had arrived when Jaime had called him and brought him some extra clothing. So Jaime was now in jeans and a t-shirt. “Jaime what are you doing?” Brienne asked incredulously.

“Stripping off to streak around the hospital three times.” Jaime replied. Brienne gaped as Jaime went to pull off his trainers.

“Jaime no! I was joking! It’s still raining out there! You’ll catch your death!” Brienne exclaimed. Jaime was about to pull off his jeans.

“I said I would do whatever you asked me. So I’ll do it Brienne.” Jaime stated. Brienne shook her head.

“I wasn’t serious about that Jaime. I don’t need you to kill yourself for me.” Brienne said gently. Jaime grinned as he pulled his t-shirt back on.

“I think we need to discuss all of this properly Brienne. We need to decide where we’re going to live, what we’re going to do about our jobs and everything else in between.” Jaime said. Brienne gaped in shock. “But first and foremost, we need to give our beautiful daughters names. They can’t go around being called baby girl Lannister one and two.” Jaime added. Brienne frowned.

“Baby girl Tarth, Jaime.” Brienne stated.

“How about Tarth Lannister?” Jaime questioned. Brienne sighed.

“Okay, I’ll agree to Tarth Lannister.” Brienne conceded.

“Well, what ideas did you have Brienne?” Jaime asked her. Brienne sighed, knowing Jaime would not give up until he’d heard her ideas for names.

“I had thought of Alysanne for my mother, or Arianne for my sister, but they don’t seem right.” Brienne said softly.

“Well... what does seem right?” Jaime asked her.

“I... I thought maybe Rhaenys for our second daughter. She looks like a Rhaenys.” Brienne said softly. “And for our first daughter...” Brienne trailed off. She looked into the face of her firstborn daughter. It was scrunched up as she slept peacefully, her skin dotted with freckles, and Brienne smiled at her, as the name suddenly came to her. “Meris. I think Meris suits her.” Brienne said softly.

“You mean the woman who left home and joined a free company when she was a girl? Then she became a great fighter and was known to torture the prisoners? That old legend?” Jaime asked. Brienne nodded.

“They called Meris ‘Pretty Meris’ even though she was scarred and ugly, but she fought until she died in battle and that is rather admirable.” Brienne said softly.

“So... Meris and Rhaenys?” Jaime asked. Brienne nodded.

“Yes. Meris and Rhaenys.” Brienne said.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

It wasn’t easy to start with. Brienne took maternity leave and she got a year off to care for the babies. Jaime got a month of paternity leave, though his father gave it to him grudgingly. While this was going on, Brienne stayed at Jaime’s large penthouse apartment. But the closer it got for Brienne’s maternity leave to end, the more Jaime thought about what to do. He couldn’t ask Brienne to leave her job with the Starks at the Winterfell Law Firm. But he wasn’t sure he could get a job up North himself and he mused over it for a good while before seeing that there was a position open at Winterfell Law Firm. So Jaime, on the pretence of taking Brienne up to check on her apartment in Winter Town, went on a job interview with Ned and Catelyn Stark staring at him like he was an alien species.

“Why would you want to work here? You have a perfectly good job with your father do you not?” Catelyn asked him.

“I want to get a job here, up north, because of Brienne and the girls. I love Brienne. I love my twins and I don’t want to be separated from them. But her maternity leave is almost up and I’m not just going to have us living in separate states, waiting for one or both of us to have time off so we can see each other and so I can spend time with my daughters. I’m trying to do the right thing.” Jaime said softly.

“And if you don’t get this job?” Ned asked.

“Then I’ll be a house husband if I have to until I can find a job.” Jaime stated firmly. Ned allowed a smile to cross his face for a moment, and Jaime was confused when the Starks sent Jaime off saying they would get in touch, but neither one of them seemed angry.

When Jaime was told he had the job he was over the moon. He was told he would have to find his own secretary. So Jaime asked Pia if she would like to move to the North. Pia was so happy about the idea she hugged Jaime. She was one of the few people who had known he was looking for a job, and she had worried that she would lose her job once Jaime left, so she was thrilled to keep her job. She didn't have any family to think of, so that was that. So when Jaime gave in his month’s notice with Casterly Rock, so did Pia, and Tywin was absolutely furious, but Jaime didn’t care. He was making his own decisions. He told Brienne and Brienne was delighted. She liked working for the Starks and had considered leaving her job, no matter how she loved it, because it wasn’t fair to make Jaime uproot. But Jaime was glad to do it. So when Brienne’s maternity leave was up, Jaime and Brienne drove up North, having packed everything they needed, with their one year old girls strapped in their booster seats and everything they needed to start a new life.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

It had been over eleven years... eleven long years... since Jaime had started working for Winterfell Law. He had proven himself over and over again, and unlike at Casterly Rock, the other lawyers respected him for his hard work instead of thinking he was riding his father’s coat tails. Rhaenys and Meris were twelve years old now. They both carried their mother’s blue eyes. They had been joined by a brother when they were three, named Duncan, and a sister when they were six, that was called Nymeria. Then another brother when they were nine, who was named Galladon. Lastly, and most recently, Brienne had given birth to another son that they had called Arthur. Jaime and Brienne had firmly said they were having no more children. They had three of each, and three girls and three boys were enough for any parents. Jaime and Brienne were both successful lawyers, and when Tywin died suddenly, shortly after Galladon was born, Tyrion came to Winterfell Law to speak about a merger. Tywin had never wanted a successor other than Jaime, and Tyrion was the inheritor of the firm now, whether Tywin had liked it or not. Tyrion wanted peace and was determined there would be no feuding.

So in the last three years, Tyrion, Jaime, Brienne, Catelyn and Ned, had gone through staff and fired plenty who were useless, including Cersei, who never kept up with her paperwork, or even won a single case. Also, the clientèle became more respectable. Ned Stark would not represent someone like Gregor Clegane and Tyrion and Jaime were happy to agree with that. Things had been going well for them all.

On this day, Jaime came home from work to see Brienne half asleep on the sofa, baby Arthur in her arms, and Jaime took the sleeping baby from her arms and placed him in his bassinet. Brienne had opened her eyes and smiled at him sleepily.

“So... it was that bad then?” Jaime asked. Brienne laughed tiredly.

“Not so bad. I’m just exhausted. All Arthur wants to do is eat.” Brienne said.

“Maybe he’ll grow to be as tall as you. Meris and Rhaenys are almost there.” Jaime said cheerfully. Brienne snorted at the thought of their twin daughters who were almost as tall as Jaime already. Duncan wasn’t far behind them either.

“If they’re tall, they’re tall. If they’re short, they’re short. Whatever they are, all they need is our love. So none of that really matters.” Brienne replied. Jaime grinned.

“You’re right. Like you are most of the time.” Jaime said.

“Most of the time?” Brienne questioned.

“Well you can’t be right all the time. What fun would that be for me?” Jaime questioned. Brienne shook her head, a laugh escaping her.

“Well, I’m glad I was wrong about you, or we wouldn’t have what we have now.” Brienne said softly. Jaime smiled.

“Well... if we didn’t go through all that shit, then we might not be where we are now. Every action has a consequence. I think we just made out pretty well.” Jaime replied. Brienne nodded and Jaime went to get them both an ice cold can of grape soda. He opened one and handed it to Brienne, then opened his own. Brienne smiled and held out her can.

“To consequences?” Brienne asked. Jaime grinned and clinked his can with hers.

“To consequences.” Jaime toasted.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so you got through this. LOL! Congrats. Please let me know what you thought and I am extremely grateful to those who comment and leave Kudos and such. It always means a lot. (nods)


End file.
